his temper matches his hair

erik rice

Erik Rice is a Minnesota native and went to nationals in 2010 on the Lewis and Clark CUPSI Team.  He is a co-founder of the Sparrow Ghost Collective in Portland, Oregon, and is currently working on a project that pits poetry and photography together.

1. WRITE A PERSONA POEM in the voice of a computer daydreaming.
2. Choose one of the following titles for a poem or flash fiction piece: 

• WHITE NOISE
• THE BEAST IN YOUR BELLY
• THE SHOOK FIST

For the wordsmiths:  check out the “SUBMIT” section on the page for information about sending us your gorgeous writing!  Can’t wait to start reading.

emily j. cousins

You will carry them with you
in through the back door. And
-
we will all finally know
what it was you said
you lived through.
-
You will open your mouth
and spill all of yourself
onto the kitchen floor.
-
We will gawk
at the complexities
of it. All the colors
-
you have held so long 
in your belly
will shock us.
-
We will stand in silence,
keep our hands to our mouths,
and shake our heads.

Emily J. Cousins originates from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains near Lyons, CO. She is currently residing in SE Portland enjoying Spanish Literature, hiking, writing, theatre, and peanut butter.

emily j. cousins

They once called him
the fortunate son.
-
As though the umbilical
cord that had felt
-
his brother’s pulse
still hung in the air
-
unspoken, as a threat.
-
He never knew 
what to say
-
about that,
but it always
-
struck him as something
the slightest bit odd.
-
Odd and comforting.

Emily J. Cousins originates from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains near Lyons, CO. She is currently residing in SE Portland enjoying Spanish Literature, hiking, writing, theatre, and peanut butter.

1. WRITE A POEM of at least 20 lines that is a single sentence.
2. WRITE A POEM at least 50 words long using only one syllable words.  Pick a perspective, and begin with a simple statement to start narration.  Try “She told me” or “Do not look.”
3. Choose one of the following titles for a poem or flash fiction piece:

• FORTUNATE SON
• ROAD CLOSED
• WHEN THE KNIVES COME HOME

Sharpening the Pen: Portland!

A weekly writing workshop hosted by the Portland Poetry Slam.  We write together every Sunday at 6PM, Backspace Cafe (115 NW 5th) right before the slam.

Come GET YOUR POETRY ON.